Just How Many Flags Are You Raising?
"Huh. So we weren't the first ones here."
"That's because Master dawdled the whole way, picking every mushroom he found and going on about how delicious they were."
"Says the guy who dunked them in every sauce he could get his hands on. I've told you before—you lean too hard on seasonings. Why not try letting the natural flavor shine once in a while?"
"But these were hard-earned mushrooms! I wanted to make the most of them."
"And then you turn around and give me grief about it~."
The man who had introduced himself as the Cooking Battler of Light, Baek Mi, was laughing and chatting with his companions as they looked for a place to sit.
The pavilion had been full for a while already—our family group and the other chefs who'd arrived earlier had seen to that. Figuring our meal was done and it was time to free up the space, I started to rise.
"Wait. Don't tell me…?"
The chef called Baek Mi pointed our way and started buzzing with his colleagues.
"Do you know them?"
"Nope. Ga-eun?"
"Not a clue."
We'd never seen them before in our lives, yet they approached radiating an aura of internal familiarity at a solid 120%, then—for reasons unknown—respectfully cupped their fists and bowed their heads.
"Madam Yumi. And Master Lee Baek. Grandmaster Baek Mi of the Ingredients Division greets the two heroes."
"Madam!?"
What is this. Feels like the genre just shifted again.
As we sat there baffled, Yumi politely asked why they were being so formal and who they actually were.
At that, Grandmaster Baek Mi—the striking chef with white tiger-striped hair and blue eyes—led the rest of them in introducing themselves without ever breaking their respectful postures.
"We are chefs belonging to Beyond Association Headquarters, disciples of Master Baek Mi, who just greeted you."
"We were dispatched by the Association in response to the recent kidnapping incident in Seoul, and we've been participating in the festival under that cover."
"We've heard Master Lee Baek's story at Headquarters. An unprecedented crisis nearly unfolded—and the two of you prevented it before it could."
"Ah—!"
"Ah—!"
So that was it. Association people. I'd been a little wary after hearing Locust had spies on that side too, but the reaction that followed wiped the suspicion clean away.
"To the two of you who fought for the children—I, Baek Mi, and my disciples offer our deepest bows!!"
"——We offer them!!!"
True to the title of Cooking Battlers of Light, their sense of justice was so fierce that merely bringing up that day had them ready to drop to their knees. The ground, of course, was pure dirt. Yumi and I scrambled out of the pavilion in a panic to stop them.
"No, no, you don't need to do that! We only acted to protect our own kids—we didn't dive in out of any grand sense of duty like all of you!!"
"That's right. More importantly, we just finished eating. If you're looking for a seat, come on up this way~!"
"You heard them, everyone."
"We thank you from the bottom of our hearts!!"
These chefs were wound tight with fighting spirit. I'd heard kitchens run like military units, but this was beyond anything I'd imagined.
"The tournament was yesterday, wasn't it? Grandmaster Baek Mi was already fired up, and his disciples aren't far behind."
"Oh. You saw that?"
"Yes—Lee Baek and I both did. The way you bared the embroidery on your right shoulder and declared you'd cook for the children… it was really cool."
"Hahaha! You're embarrassing me!"
Despite being a young man, Grandmaster Baek Mi scratched the back of his neck with a slightly hoarse laugh, brushing it off as nothing. His disciples, kneeling in order, filled in a little of what had actually happened yesterday.
"Master originally meant to refuse, since he was already on assignment."
"But given who the opponents were, he decided to crush their pride—in case those Dark Chefs tried anything foul on this mountain."
"And yet, far from breaking their pride, we only made them more aggressively hostile. We are truly ashamed to face all of you."
We shifted to make a little room and sat facing them, listening closely. Rina, naturally, made her discomfort extremely obvious; Taeyang's group, by contrast, had stars in their eyes. From the sound of it, these people matched the kids' idea of heroes almost perfectly—which only made them more curious about Baek Mi.
Saetbyeol, as usual, tapped away at her laptop and slipped in a supplementary briefing on Grandmaster Baek Mi.
"Alias: Grandmaster Baek Mi. Real name: Baek Mi. A famous Pro Battler who oversees the Ingredients Division and all cooking cards for the Beyond Battle Association. Anyone who dreams of becoming a Cooking Battler would kill for his guidance. Roughly thirty percent of all cooking cards registered with the Association were discovered and registered by Grandmaster Baek Mi himself."
"Whoa, that's incredible!"
Sounds like she's introducing some gourmet hunter from a completely different series.
Baek Mi awkwardly scratched the back of his neck through the whole introduction.
"I'm just a Battler who happens to love cooking. I got so absorbed in my work that by the time I looked up, I had a pile of disciples and this grandiose title of Grandmaster."
He laughed it off as if it had all been accidental, but the man was clearly remarkable. And far from merely kind, he seemed genuinely humble—sitting politely while we waited for the mushroom dishes and posing a careful question.
"I'd been planning to visit Madam and Master soon to thank you properly."
"Us?"
"Yes. Among the children who were brainwashed that day was one of my disciples' kids. We got the news at dawn and were about to rush out—only to learn the two of you had already handled everything. To think I'd meet our benefactors in a place like this. Surely you're not out on more neighborhood-watch work… no, with this many children, it must be a family trip. I only hope we haven't intruded."
The three adults all shook their heads at once, insisting that wasn't the case at all.
"Not even a little. We're on vacation—meeting new people and making connections is a good thing, isn't it?"
"Who would dare complain about people working a festival for the sake of children?"
"Ah—the kids with us were the main players in that whole incident. They all dream of becoming Pro Battlers, so this is perfect, actually. Look at them. They're delighted just listening to Master Baek Mi talk."
Since we were sharing a table, I gave Taeyang and Manbok a light shove forward and let the conversation bloom around that day's events. The children waited their turns with perfect manners, and once the ice was broken they demanded autographs and eagerly bragged about everything that had happened, answering Grandmaster Baek Mi's questions without the slightest hesitation.
"Brainwashing… I'd heard the reports from above, but hearing it from the kids themselves is genuinely chilling."
"How dare anyone do something like that to children!!"
"That's not something even the Dark Chefs would do. Those guys still have lines they won't cross."
"More accurately, they're only committing misdemeanors because they're terrified of international sanctions."
"Locust. What a truly terrifying organization."
"Unforgivable!!"
The disciples were outraged, of course. Bound tight with righteousness, they declared they would never forgive what had happened, sparks practically flying from their eyes.
Faced with all that blazing justice, Ga-eun voiced the concern she'd been holding back.
"The fact that you're all here… does that mean this festival is in danger too?"
"This is a year when Beyond Rare Mushrooms grow. The Association is concerned that rare-card hunters—Locust's people—may show up. And given that the Dark Chefs based in East Asia have already made an appearance, we intend to keep watch until the end."
Those black-clad chefs we saw earlier, right?
"But those guys were with us when we started out. Why aren't they here now?"
Grandmaster Baek Mi answered Chaerin's question with the same courtesy he showed the adults.
"The fact that all of you made it here means the mushrooms of this place have accepted you. But those people, who only come to steal rare mushrooms like common poachers, will never be allowed in."
So the system filters people like that out?
"Exactly. The elders of Yangyang County are very wise, aren't they?"
Grandmaster Baek Mi laughed heartily and turned back to Ga-eun, who had started the thread, assuring her there was no need to worry so much.
"As far as we know, the Beyond Rare Mushrooms will be distributed right here. They've also prepared a separate route out of the mountain. Even if something happened on the way down, an ambush is highly unlikely."
"And if we were ambushed somehow?"
"That would only happen if someone tipped the Dark Chefs off about this place. But I find it hard to imagine anyone who loves mushrooms would do such a thing."
Oh no. He'd been doing so well—and then he went and planted a massive flag out of nowhere.
He had just publicly declared that if a spy existed, this secret spring could be attacked.
And that spy is sitting right here, you know~.
I glanced sideways.
"………."
"Rina?"
"Euh-het!?"
Just in case, I called her name—and our little wild-animal of a kid started trembling from the shoulders up, looking for all the world like her conscience had just been stabbed.
"What's wrong? You were yapping away just fine a minute ago. Feeling awkward talking to strangers?"
"As if! I just ate too many mushrooms—my stomach's all bloated!!"
"Hoo-oong."
Suspicious.
Just in case, I set my palm on my deck case and contacted Baek Seol-ah through the card that sealed her soul. Naturally, she was in the middle of running the shop, so the racket of the store came through with her voice.
"Yes, Master. This is Baek Seol-ah. What is your business?"
Has the Great Leader contacted you at all?
"No. After yesterday's report, there has been no contact today."
What kind of report went through yesterday?
"Routine questions and answers—what the three of you were doing, whether the shop was running well. At the end of the report, I mentioned that all of you would be leaving for vacation in Yangyang County. I believe I already told Master as much?"
I was wondering if there was any other reaction at the time.
"There were no additional orders. If you're looking for something, the only thing I can offer is that his response sounded irritated—for reasons I don't know."
Irritated?
"I recall his tone was higher than usual. Because of the mask, I can't be certain he was truly irritated. That's why I didn't mention it…."
Ah, I know the feeling. Sorry, but from now on, report that kind of thing too, all right?
"Yes. I'll be more careful."
I told her I wasn't scolding her, added a brief "keep up the good work," and rubbed my chin, feeling distinctly unsettled.
Flag one, flag two, and with that last bit—flag three.
Grandmaster Baek Mi's announcement, Rina's reaction, and now Baek Seol-ah's guess….
No way. Right?
His own wife takes their son out for some fresh air, and just because there's another man nearby he sends Rina to stage an ambush? As a fellow man, I sincerely prayed he wouldn't pull something that pathetic.
"Is something wrong?"
"No. Nothing at all."
Yumi, ever sharp, was reading my face—but I kept my thoughts buried and watched the group instead.
"What kind of work do you do once you become a Pro Battler!?"
"Please tell us the difference between Cooking Battlers and regular Battlers!"
"Besides the Dark Chefs and Locust, how many other bad guys are out there in the world?"
"I want to hear stories about you thrashing those kinds of guys!!"
Taeyang and the other kids kept firing off questions, and the Cooking Battlers of Light never once dodged them, enjoying their meal and sharing a warm, lively stretch of time with everyone.
That was when a single oyster mushroom appeared.
Oys-oys-oys-oys!!
It held out a set of red card packs and sleeves above our pavilion, one for each person, inviting us to take them.
"Ah, there it is. The card packs containing the Beyond Rare Mushroom. Looks like all the guests for this round have arrived, so they're distributing them here."
"Packs mean there are other cards in them too, right?"
"There should be a few rare cards prepared by Yangyang County. Oh—right. The flavor sealed in the mushroom card might fade, so leave them sealed for now. If you plan to use it as a card that's fine, but if you intend to eat it, call a chef and open it then. That's best."
"Heeh~. Then I'm saving mine to open at home!"
"Me too, me too~."
"I'm going to use mine for research."
"Heehee. It's good for beauty treatments too, right? Mom's gonna love this!!"
Packs that held both the objective—the Beyond Rare Mushroom—and rare cards on top of that. The kids were over the moon, and that pure joy rolled from pavilion to pavilion in a wave. You could tell just from the reactions around us: everyone had finally gotten what they came for. And every time that joy filled the spring, Rina's shoulders only hunched tighter.
"Urghh…."
She was sweating faintly, looking thoroughly apologetic—like a kid who'd already done something terrible.
"What's wrong?"
"Ah, it's just—my stomach really hurts! I'm gonna hit the bathroom real quick!!"
And with that, she actually got up and left.
…Yumi.
Yes. I know. From that reaction, it looks like she already did it a while ago.
Her friends and everyone else were that happy—and she was about to dump cold water all over it. Judging by how deathly pale her face had gone, the ambush coming soon was clearly not something Rina had wanted.